Identity Crisis
by niko56
Summary: While on a mission, a careless mistake happens and Harley Quinn finds out Batgirl's identity! DUN-DUN-DUUUUUUUUUN! How will Barbara react? What will Harley do? How did this happen? Why am I asking you all these questions? Read to find out. R&R please! Rated T


**Disclaimer: Batman the Animated Series is owned by people far more talented and wealthier than I. **

**A/N: Here's a little one-shot. It's got Harley and Batgirl; enjoy!**

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"**Identity Crisis"**

**. . .**

_Barbara's POV_

If I turned my head slightly to the left and looked down I would see a piece of felt and Kevlar. It doesn't look like much, it's thermally insulated, has a headset and transmitter built in and can stop a .30-06 bullet at mid and long range. Okay, with the right equipment anyone could make that piece of felt and Kevlar right? Of course, but; this isn't just any old piece of felt and Kevlar...

...It's my cowl...

The very thing that shrouded my nighttime identity from would-be creeps and crooks of the night was laying haphazardly in a heap on a dirty bathroom floor, just inches from a puddle of what looked and smelled like urine. Gross.

The room itself is just like any old restroom. It's maybe 20 feet by 30 feet, it had ugly, decaying gray colored tiles lining the walls, some of which had fallen revealing the pewter concrete behind them. It had three stalls, the doors and walls marched the color scheme on the walls, each door was ajar in a different manner. On the opposite side the bathroom had three white sinks, all in a row with an old smudgy mirror above each. It also had two hand dryers near the door, both well used. On the far wall between the sinks and stalls was a barred window clearly bolted shut. There were also two florescent lights on the ceiling, one bulb in one of the lights was constantly flickering and was in dire need of replacing.

Now if I look down directly to my right I would see a man laying in an unconscious slump. He was well built, African-American, he had a crew cut with a newly made bruise on his left temple, he also sported with a two piece short mustache. He wore a white polo shirt, black belt with a bunch of utilities, black chinos with a single golden vertical stripe on each leg, and dress shoes. He also sported a badge and a name tag. A name that read 'Alec' in dark pressed lettering. He was a security guard, and you would also note he had no weapon...

Because I did...

His gun was a standard issue SIG Sauer P226, standard magazine size,fires the 9mm bullet, and was in a classic matte black finish. It wasn't a special gun, no laser sight, no flashlight, no high capacity magazine, all points proving Alec is just a security guard trying to make an honest night's living who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

As for me, I wore my usual superheroes outfit, but instead of my yellow gloved hands holding a Batarang, it held Alec's pistol, and you could easily tell by the expression on my face that I had never been more sure and unsure of one thing in my life, for directly in front of he, back to the second stall door stood the smirking face of that who could not only ruin my life, but the lives of many.

Harley Quinn.

The smug little psycho stood there, here scared expression quickly turning into surprise, and then a smirk crept on her overly powdered face, changing her emotion to cool calm and collected. Out of courtesy she held up her hands. Other than that there was only one thing she held-the reason this whole debacle began in the first place. She held a small Flash drive.

She let out a small chuckle, which turned into a longer-quicker chuckle, her eyes never leaving mine, and mine, hers. She shook her head in a sarcastic manner a few times and then looked at me again, at last she spoke. "Aw poo, looks like I owe old Jervis a couple a bucks." she sneered calmly in her overdone Queens accent. "And all this time I thought you were someone cooler like-I dunno, Scarlet Johansen-or something." she shrugged.

She ducked her head and shook it again, chuckling, which only made my aim more nervous and unsteady, I probably couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if I were kissing it. Harley then spoke again. "But I guess I was wrong." She then picked her head up staring right at me with over-confident daggers in her eyes. "Wasn't I, Barbara Gordon?"

My heart sank, I had the upper hand-or so I thought, but never had I ever been put into a position like this before. I wanted to run but that wouldn't solve anything AND make me look like a coward. Now the obvious choice I could shoot her-and not only end her pathetic existence, but shatter any hopes of her blabbing my secret to anyone she wanted. But that...would go against everything I stand for-everything I was taught.

The only thing for sure, I was in quite a pickle...But I guess I should start from the beginning...

_-. . .-. . .-. . .-. . .-_

_27 minutes earlier..._

_Normal POV_

It seemed like an ordinary evening in Gotham, it was early September, the air was still humid yet there was a slight crispness, meaning autumn was slowly creeping up on the city. Like any other evening, it was ideal crime fighting weather.

Especially for Batgirl.

By day, she was just an ordinary girl, she went to class, studied, and worked like any one else her age. But by night she was one of the Caped Crusaders greatest secret weapons. And it seemed like this night would end like any other, or so she thought.

It was a slow evening, Batgirl stood on an upper ledge of one of the many tall buildings in downtown Gotham, she looked through her Bat-noculars to the buildings and streets below trying to look for some crime to fight. Though it was a very slow evening, and she was nearly ready to call it a night. On her cowl she tuned in her transmitter to Batman's.

"_What's wrong?" _he asked in his trademark broody voice.

"Absolutely nothing, city's been quiet all night." Batgirl answered "I was wondering what you were up to."

"_Robin and I are looking into a lead for the Riddler in South Gotham, but that shouldn't be anything worth joining us over."_

"Well, it beats standing up here looking for-"

Before Batgirl could finish her sentence, her eyes glanced towards an office building below her, where at the penthouse level she peered through the window to see the silhouette of the clown princess of crime typing away at a computer, that would set the wheels in motion.

"_Looking for what?" Batman retorted_

Batgirl smiled, finally she could do what she does best. "Strike that, I think I may be getting busy real soon."

"_Need any help?" Batman asked_

"Nope, I think I'll fare just fine, I'll let you know when I'm done. Batgirl out." she said confidently, ending the transmission.

In the coming minutes she would most certainly regret those words, but unfortunately Batgirl could not see into the future. From her utility belt she grabbed her Bat-hook launcher and aimed it for the office building. Once secured, she swung her way across the street, landing on the roof, just above the room where Harley was doing her dirty work.

Inside, the clown girl sat at a desk which faced away from the window, the lights across the street cast a good shadow about the room. What Harley was doing was hacking into the accounts of the man whose office it was, a wealthy Gotham Lumber magnate named Isaac Bernstein. She was nearly finished with her work, transferring account information into a Flash drive stuck into a USB port in the side of the computer. At last she was- "Done, yes." she whispered merrily. "And now, we eject the device, and-bingo." She shut down the computer and grabbed her Flash drive. "Boy, Red is gonna plotz when she sees-GASP!" Harley glanced down at the shadow of the floor, which now had a Bat looking shadow that nearly over took the window.

Harley quickly grabbed her oversized streamer firing revolver from the desk and turned around towards the window, but before she could fire, she saw no bat, she lowered her gun and sighed "Whew, this late night work is starting to get to me." She turned around again and gasped "YAH!"

Batgirl leaned against the desk smirking, her right hand drumming her gloved fingers about the expensive oak tabletop. She was amused watching Harley stammer trying to make up a half-assed excuse. "Um...Batgirl-t-this-th-this...this isn't what it looks like?" She shrugged innocently.

But Batgirl wasn't buying it one bit. She knew what Harley was doing but wanted more details, and she knew the clown girl was a sucker for revealing her plans-whether they were hers or someone else. "Stealing account information from a Lumber CEO? What's wrong Harley? Did the Joker run out of his good schemes? Or is this just busy work to get you out of his hair?"

"For your information, I'm..." she paused "Taking some time off with Mistah J-we've...hit a snag." She explained.

Batgirl rolled her eyes, shes heard that all too well before. "Sure you are. But that makes sense I guess, a lumber corporation, that has Ivy written all over it."

"You're a smart little bat aren't ya?" Harley asked. She scanned the room trying to think of an exit strategy, while still buying herself some time. "Yeah, it's a sweet gig, I steal the accounts, Mr. Bernstein and his company go bankrupt and Red and me sit back and count the money."

"Ya know, that is a good plan-oh, except you over looked one thing." Batgirl said condescendingly

Harley frowned, she knew the answer "Is it you?"

"Yup."

"Knew it." Harley sighed

"So look, I'm in a good mood, let's skip the all the drama, and the fighting, and just go right to the part where I haul your butt back to Arkham, what do you say?" Batgirl asked, taking out a pair of Bat-cuffs from her belt, and holding them in front of Harley.

She knew there would be fighting, Harley was a lot of things, but a quitter most certainly wasn't one of them. Plus, a little action was definitely something she needed. "Aw come on Bratgirl, what fun...would...THAT BE!"

She raised her gun and out of impulse Batgirl swatted the Flash drive out of Harley's other hand, and it flew across the office, landing over by a wall "Hey!" Harley complained, she fired, but Batgirl dove out of the way towards the device, and was able to kick the gun away from Harley. "You little!" Harley dove after Batgirl, and the two wrestled each other for the drive, each having a hand on it.

"Let it go Harley!"

"Never!"

The two continued to play tug-of-war over the simple little Flash drive, which at this point was worth millions of dollars. They each used their free hands to swat at each other and push their face away to knock the other over. Eventually Batgirl proved to be the stronger contender, with one good tug she grabbed the device and tumbled over a few times, whereas Harley rolled back into the desk, the force caused a drawer to open.

"Erg!" Harley stood up and glanced over to the drawer, and smiled, for it revealed a small revolver, a Colt .38 Special with silicon grips. "Perfect." she grabbed the gun and aimed it at Batgirl, who was just standing up. "Say hello to my little friend Bratgirl!"

Batgirl's eyes widened, she cartwheeled behind an armchair as Harley fired three shots of the gun. "Three." she whispered trying to catch her breath.

She saw a couch nearby and jumped behind that as Harley fired again. "Four." She ducked her head out and Harley fired again. "Five."

"Give it up Batzy, just throw the drive, and maybe I'll let ya leave with your vital organs in tact." she smiled, and drew a little closer.

"Not likely!" Batgirl called

"Hmm, suit yourself." Harley shrugged, firing her last shot right through the couch, missing Batgirl, who was now in the clear.

"And six." She whispered then stood up, a confused Harley smiled wickedly.

"Ha! Now I gotcha! Say good night Bat-brat! Huh?" Harley pulled the trigger, but clicked, it was out of ammo. "Erg! Piece a junk!" she chucked it at Batgirl who dodged.

"And on that note, I guess I'll be going!"

Batgirl took three yellow Batarangs from her utility belt and chucked them at Harley, who flipped away back towards the desk. Now with a head start, Batgirl ran from the office. An angered Harley grabbed her tote bag from the desk, her streamer gun, and ran after her. "Get back here!"

Harley dashed out of the office only to see no sign of Batgirl. The building was set up as a typical rectangle, the office was in a corner, lined with other corporate offices along the sides, the middle of the floor was completely open to the lobby many floors below. The clown girl kept her cool and walked down the hallway. "I know you're still here Batgirl. I know having the evidence isn't enough for ya...you want me too. Well here I am baby! Come and get me!" she called

Batgirl was in fact still in the building. She would never admit it but Harley was right, she wanted to see her back at Arkham again. She was hiding out in an office waiting for Harley to pass the doorway to ambush her. She could hear her breathing, she was getting close. Batgirl slid the drive into a pocket in her belt.

Sure enough Harley crossed the path of the doorway and that is when Batgirl bull rushed her right into the railing that separated the floor to the dark abyss below. Harley however was able to throw Batgirl off of her getting neutral. Not a word was said as the two exchanged punching combinations on the other. First Harley knocked Batgirl against the railing and tried to throw her off.

With her free hand Batgirl managed to jab Harley in the back getting free, and then kicked her into a window of an office breaking it. Undaunted Harley thrust herself into Batgirl's gut kicking her backwards. She tried to throw her cape over her head, but Batgirl was there to throw Harley over her body and into a board room at the other corner of the floor.

This time Harley reached into her tote bag and pulled out a Mac 11 sub-machine gun with a devastating high rate of fire. She leaped onto the desk and fired out the window into the hallway, Batgirl was able to dodge all of the blasts and ducked into another office.

Harley followed her inside where Batgirl was positioned above the doorway waiting. She jumped onto Harley's shoulders, causing her to fire blindly. The clown girl used her free hand to try and knock her off as they fumbled about the hallway, knocking into walls, railings and anything in their way. Even hitting the call button for the elevators.

Eventually Harley knocked Batgirl off of her, and fell into the elevator, holding her gun in one hand, and the drive in the other, as it came loose during the exchange. On the ground nearby a tired Batgirl looked with defeated eyes as she watched the doors close on her opportunity...literally.

Harley wanted to smirk, but she was too tired, beaten, and angry herself. She quickly kicked a random button on the pad inside the elevator and the door closed, just before Batgirl could make it.

"Fuc-"

"Whew." Harley sighed.

The elevator would leave her a few floors below to the older and less refurbished part of the building. She figured going to the lobby would be too obvious. She caught her breath, and ejected the now empty clip on her gun. She reached into her tote and picked up a fresh clip, loading it into her gun.

She heard the ding as the elevator stopped. Harley carelessly stepped out and got a face full of punch, as Batgirl was already waiting for her. Harley dropped her gun, and ended up fighting hand to hand once again.

The two fought in the same area for a few literal beats, getting a few good hits on the others face and gut, but Harley tried to take off running down the hallway. Eventually they turned a corner and Harley accidentally elbowed someone in the forehead knocking them unconscious, the security guard Alec who apparently hadn't heard the ruckus coming from upstairs. He fell to his right, into the restroom, where coincidentally Batgirl threw Harley into.

They fought in one of the stalls until Harley threw Batgirl out and onto one of the sinks. Before she could get up, Harley was there, she threw Batgirl's head into the sink and turned on the water in an effort to drown her. Batgirl was able to punch her away and back into the row of stalls. She went to attack again but Harley was there to continue punching, she got a good hold on Batgirl's cowl, and after another punch, Harley was thrown back, tearing the cowl away from Batgirl's face.

After getting neutral again the two gazed at one another. Barbara was now too frozen to move, out of impulse she looked down at the unconscious Alec and grabbed his pistol from the fake leather holster sticking up into the air, and she hastily pointed it at a triumphant Harley...

_Present..._

_Barbara's POV_

So, that's how it happened. A careless mistake and a serendipitous defensive maneuver revealed my secret identity to one of the last people I ever wished would have known. My aim on the gun was getting much more hesitant and shaky...and worst part of that was, Harley knew that.

"Well, I guess ya caught me; yup, there's nothing more I can do." Harley winced with an evil disposition, she held out her hands "Guess you'll have to take me to Arkham...wontcha?"

"And blab my secret to all the scum in this city? Not in this life." I scowled

"Right you are, boy it would be a shame if-I dunno, all of the rogues in this city knew that Gordon's little girl is the Bat-brat. Guess I should've seen that coming, what a great way to have an eyes and ears on all the bad stuff going on around here, I'll give him props on that one, he must be so proud of you."

I hung my head, little did I know she anticipated that, it was all part of her sick, twisted little game. "Oh, he doesn't know, does he?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Um-I tried to tell him once!" I stammered "I-I-I-maybe he didn't under-stand-SHUT-UP! Maybe you've forgotten I'm the one with the gun here now!" I yelled, trying to steady my aim.

Harley smirked again "Right, sure. A goody-two-shoes like you? Kill little old me? I dunno, I guess if ever there were such an opportunity." My God, she sounded so much like Joker just then "But you're too much of a girl scout to do that. See, I may be a bimbo-but I am a psychiatrist. I've been studying you Bats for some time now-among others. And what I see is, none of you kill. Ever." she hissed. "What is it Barbara? Traumatic experience? Ultra left-wing disapproval on firearms? Or are you just too afraid? Face it, lock me up, and everyone will know, and you'll be toast...kill me? And your little mistake dies with me, of course; you'll have to live with that." I could never tell her how right she was.

"Who-whose gonna believe you anyway?" I scoffed

"I guess that's a risk you'll just have to take isn't it?" she asked "Now, here's option three: let me go, and then; never bother me again-AND, if I ever need a favor of ANYKIND, guess who gets the call?" she asked wickedly

"No way." I shook my head "I won't be your slave."

"Well then, the choices are yours...arrest me...or kill me, what's it gonna be Babs?"

God! Babs...I always HATED that name, but that aside, Harley was right! I'm no killer, but I couldn't risk having her in Arkham knowing my secret like that. I mean, if she knew that it would only be a matter of time until she discovered Batman's...Robin's...Nightwing's. But...I couldn't let her go. Not a chance.

Suddenly, everything about me unraveled at the seams...I'm a crime fighter, not a killer-but I can't let her getaway free or not. My aim shook again, as much as I wanted to blow Harley to sky high, I couldn't...I just...couldn't. My legs grew weak and I fell to my knees sobbing, dropping the gun.

A satisfied Harley walked over to me and sadistically caressed my shoulders. "I knew it." She then dropped to my level. "You once thought you were so high and mighty, well that's over, without that mask, you're nothing but a scared little kid...because the fact of the matter is, Batgirl is the strong, but Barbara Gordon is not...just remember that, you are the weak, and I am the strong."

THEN, Harley did something I really dreaded. She caressed my face, I noticed her eyes got really watery. "But I'm trying Barbara...I'm trying really hard to be the strong...one."

She threw off her jester cap wiped away her make up, revealing Harleen Quinzel and her pig tails. I raised an eyebrow not knowing how to react. "Harley Quinn is...the strong one...but I-I'm the weak. Look at us, we hide behind these masks-and for what? To keep the streets safe? To take over the streets? What does it do? Were different people in these masks but deep down were just scared little kids trying to muttle through life. What for? I can try to change but it'll never work, look at me! I'm hopelessly in love with an abusive psychopathic clown, I'll never-never be able to get out of that. I don't want to tell your secret-what good will it do me? I just want one thing from you."

I was ecstatic, I didn't know whether to cry, smile or continue to be hopelessly confused. "Sure Harley anything, name it!"

"Once a week...we talk...Harleen Quinzel, and Barbara Gordon, I don't care where it is, I don't care what we talk about...but that's it. And when the costumes are on we go back to trying to best each other."

I welled up, I could completely agree to that! Finally I could talk to someone who would listen to me where I didn't have to risk ruining my secret. Finally, just...I dunno, closure. Harley then grabbed the pair of cuffs from my belt and cuffed herself, she then stood and crushed the Flash drive, completely rendering it useless. "Come on."

We both stood up, I put my cowl back on, and then we headed out of the building, ready to...well, I guess start our relationship all over again. "Just one thing though?" I said

"What is it?"

"Don't ever call me 'Babs' again."

**The End...**

**Alright-alright, I know it's incredibly anticlimactic, but I really had absolutely no other way to end this positively, but it does look like a good ending, just not one I'm used to doing. So, thank you all so much for reading, review if you like, check out all the other stories myself and others have done, and I'll see you next time!**

**PEACE!**


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